His Job
by Aqua Mage
Summary: When Jack is hurt saving Janet, can he remove her guilt and make her realise that it's his job...? First ever SG1 fic, pleeease REVIEW! COMPLETE!
1. Chapter 1

Hiya! This is my first SG1 Fic, and only my second fic EVER! Please be nice! I would REALLY appreciate reviews. Seriously, I mean like dancing round the room appreciate!

I would like to point out that I know this story isn't very good, but please bear with me and review, I'd like to improve with practise!

Disclaimer: Don't own anything except the plot. (unfortunately, as I would LOVE to own Jack!) Oh, and the first sentence is from the opening sentence challenge number 12 at Visit the site, it's the best! Also, please visit my site: www.whumpingfic. and my yahoo group: http/groups. on, make my day/month/year!

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When the temperature falls below zero Fahrenheit, the cold feels like tiny needles piercing your skin. You die feeling like you're burning, which is …ironic, really. Dieing from the cold, feeling like you're in an oven. Sometimes, people even strip off, naked, as they die, trying desperately to cool down, killing themselves more quickly.

Or at least, that's what I've read. I live in Colorado, and go around in shirtsleeves - I've never experienced anything like it first hand.

Until Now.

It's stupid, really. This was supposed to be a milk run, a piece of cake. An easy, relaxing mission with SG1; some interesting looking soil for Sam, and a pile of ruins for Daniel, inscribed with what looked like a rarely used form of ancient Egyptian, apparently; though, as the Colonel says, all these 'wall scratchings' look the same – of course, unlike the Colonel, I'd never mention that to Daniel. I was coming along because there were some interesting looking herbs around the ruins, and the MALP had shown signals that they might be useful for medicinal purposes. However, they were pretty delicate, and would require extremely careful packaging and handling back to the Stargate, so the "Big Wigs", as the Colonel calls them, wanted to be sure they were useful before spending precious military time and resources getting samples back to the gate. With this in mind, I had agreed to tag along. I wasn't really needed, a member of SG8, the medical team, would have done it just as well, but the infirmary was pretty quiet at the moment. And well, Cassie was off on a school trip for two weeks, and it had been pouring with rain for weeks outside the mountain, and a trip to a nice sunny planet with my friends sounded perfect. I couldn't wait to tell Sam about the date I'd met last night. And she thought the last one was weird. And did I mention it was sunny?

Or it was supposed to be.

We came out of the gate like bullets- I really don't think I've ever moved so fast in my life! I wasn't hurt, but I did take a tumble down the conveniently placed steps, and I was pretty shaken. I lay still for a moment after I'd rolled to a halt – talk about a rough ride! – until a hand rested on my shoulder and the Colonel's voice came from above me. "You alright, Doc?" I rolled over and scrambled to my feet, gratefully accepting the Colonel's helping hand. "Fine thank you, Colonel, just a little shaken. Does that happen often?" I wondered aloud. "Now and again, Doc, now and again", he replied. I looked around me. True to form, Teal'c was checking out the surrounding area, while Sam was helping a slight shaken looking Daniel hunt for his glasses, which seemed to have been lost somewhere during our spectacular entry to the planet.

"Everyone alright?" the Colonel asked, receiving affirmative replies from the rest of our group. "Good. Carter, check out the DHD, I want to be able to get home on time, I forgot to set the recording for the Simpson's. Daniel, your glasses are about two feet away from your left hand, one o'clock. I swear, this would be a lot easier if you would get one of those cord thingies…Teal'c, everything alright?"

"Indeed" the returning Jaffa confirmed, inclining his head towards the Colonel. "Good. Carter?"

"Everything seems to be in working order, Sir; I think you'll make the Simpson's…"

"Thank you, Carter. Much appreciated. Okay people, Teal'c, you take point, I'll watch out sixes. Carter, Doc, you get to stop Daniel from running off as soon as he spots his bunch of rocks. Okey dokey then, campers, lets move out."

It was a nice trip, at first. Everything went just as planned; and it seemed like the worst thing that was going to happen was stubbing my toe on one of Daniel's artefacts.

Oh, how wrong I was.

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Okay, end of first chapter. The complete story is on my yahoo group already, the address of which is at the top, and in my bio. The next chapter will be posted here soon.

Pleeeease REVIEW!


	2. Chapter 2

Hiya! Update! Hope you're enjoying it. I'd like to apologise for the links to my site and group not working – if you want them, visit my bio page. I'll try to type them here again, but they may not work…okay, here goes. (Remove the spaces) My site: www. whumpingfic. 2ya. com, and my group: http/ groups. yahoo. com/ group/ whumpingfic/

Oh, and I have a request. Does anybody know how to change the settings of a yahoo group so that **only members** can view the posts? If you do, can you please let me know? I've seen it done, but have no idea how to do it – and yahoo doesn't say…

Okay, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!

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In the last chapter:

_It was a nice trip, at first. Everything went just as planned; and it seemed like the worst thing that was going to happen was stubbing my toe on one of Daniel's artefacts._

_Oh, how wrong I was._

We'd been at the site for about five hours so far; it was mid-afternoon. Teal'c spotted it first, his cry of "O'Neill" echoing across the open ground. The next thing I knew, the Colonel was beside me, yelling to leave everything and run. I looked behind me, and my first thought was 'where's the sky gone?' A huge, black thundercloud dominated the air as far as the eye could see; crackling with lightning. It was moving so fast it was upon us before we had made it halfway back to the Gate, the wind plucking at our clothes, rain stinging our cheeks. We were running through the forest when it caught us, nearing the edge, making the place that mere hours ago had been still and tranquil into a terrifying, swirling hell-hole.

There was a terrible cracking noise to my left, and then something slammed into me, and I was rolling forwards, out of control, buffeted by the wind. As I came to a stop, I scrambled to my feet, and turned.

There was a huge tree lying where I had been standing just seconds ago.

There was no sign of the Colonel, who had been running slightly behind me, covering his teams sixes, as usual. It was then that the horrible realisation of what had happened crept over me. The impact I had felt, the cracking…the Colonel must have pushed me out of the way of the falling object – and been hit by it himself.

I screamed his name, trying to be heard above the wind, but there was no reply, that I could hear. The others were to far ahead to have realised what was going on – the Colonel must have been running deliberately slowly so that he could keep an eye on me. This was all my fault. If I had only run a little faster…tears were running down my face as I fumbled with my radio, trying to call Sam, praying that it would work with all the interference from the storm.

And then, the most wonderful thing happened. As I was trying to let Sam know what had happened, I glanced back at the tree, trying to gauge it's weight – Sam wanted to know, for some reason – and there he was. Stumbling out of the piles of crushed branches.

ALIVE.

He limped up to me, yelling at me to keep running, pulling me along until I snapped out of my shock. We burst free of the forest, and saw Sam, Daniel and Teal'c running towards us. The Colonel flipped the switch on his radio, yelling at them to get to the gate.

Then it struck.

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Yay! Hope you enjoyed it! Please review, it really speeds up my posting – I wasn't going to post this 'till tomorrow, but 'cos you seemed to be enjoying it, I decided to post it early.

Thanks to all my reviewers from the previous chapter – you made my day, really!

**isabel:** Hey, me too! I love the stories with them in! Thanx for reading…

**Pat:** Thank you very much. Hope this satisfies…

**x2closex:** Thanx. Hope this update is soon enough for you!

**Bev:** Thank you sooo much – I'm flattered. Hope you enjoyed this chapter as much…

**Geraldine:** It's the first chapter, but, now you mention it, it is kinda like an intro…thanx for joining my group, hope you enjoyed the story!

**Angela: **Thanx. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!

**REMEMBER**, if you want to read the complete story now, check out my group, or my site. The addresses are in my bio…


	3. Chapter 3

Hiya! Thanx for all your reviews! Here's chapter three. Only one more chapter to go! Remember; visit my site or my yahoo group to read the finished story. My site: www. whumpingfic. and my group: http/ groups. yahoo. com/ group/ whumpingfic/

Oh, and I have a request. Does anybody know how to change the settings of a yahoo group so that only members can view the posts? If you do, can you please let me know! I've seen it done, but have no idea how to do it – and yahoo doesn't say…

In the last chapter:

_He limped up to me, yelling at me to keep running, pulling me along until I snapped out of my shock. We burst free of the forest, and saw Sam, Daniel and Teal'c running towards us. The Colonel flipped the switch on his radio, yelling at them to get to the gate. _

_Then it struck.

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_

Lightning struck the ground in front of us with an ear-shattering crash. I was thrown backwards, into the Colonel, and we flew several metres before coming back down to Earth.

I rolled off the Colonel as quickly as possible, my first instinct being to check that he was unhurt. He scrambled to his feet, brushing me off, and gave me a hand up. As the dust in front of us cleared, the damage caused by the lightning strike was revealed.

A gaping chasm, at least six metres across, now lay between us and the others.

The Colonel grabbed his radio, barking out "Carter? You three okay?" A reply came back immediately, "Yes Sir, a little bruised, but we're fine. What about you and Janet?" He glanced quickly at me, silently assessing. I nodded. "Yeah, we're fine. Major, I want you, Daniel and Teal'c to get back to the gate, ASAP. Get the General to send a honkin' big ladder through as soon as this storm clears up." "Sir..." "That's an order, Major. Non-negotiable. Get going." The Colonel had anticipated her protest, it seemed. "Yes Sir. Good luck Sir, Janet." And then there was silence.

The Colonel turned to me. I was about to check him over for injuries – he obviously had them – when he spoke. "Okay, Doc, looks like it's just you and me for a while," he said, flashing a weary grin. "Let's get back to the trees, shall we? They'll provide better cover." Turning, he started back in the direction we'd come from.

It took less than two minutes to get back to the trees, but by that time it was dark. "D'ya think 'gradual' is a word on this planet, Doc?" the Colonel's voice floated out of the darkness. "They don't seem to do things slowly, do they…?" he continued, chuckling. Suddenly, his breath caught, and he broke into a fit of hacking coughs, gasping in pain. "Sir?" I was at his side in an instant, rubbing calming circles on his back. Taking his pulse, I found it to be racing, and his breathing definitely didn't sound too good. "I'm...fine...Doc" he ground out through gritted teeth. Just…a…bit…sore."

"I'll be the judge of that, Colonel," I answered, gently feeling along his rib cage. Several times I felt bone give under my fingers. Definitely broken.

"Colonel, does it hurt anywhere else? I need you to be honest with me, sir, this is important…" I heard him sigh in pain and frustration. "Sir? I really need…"

"Head…back…wrist…knee…and…shoulder." He grunted "just…bruises…though…" he tried to convince me. It didn't work, as he slumped against me, unconscious.

I lowered his head carefully onto my lap, unable to move him to treat his wounds because of the awkward way he had fallen on me. I would have to wait until he woke up, and pray that it was soon. I was now basically alone, in the dark, on a different planet, in the middle of a howling storm. I didn't think it could get any worse.

That's when the rain **_froze_**.

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Okay, that's it for now! I'll post the next chapter as soon as I get four reviews! Or sometime next week, if I don't get enough…

Replies to reviewers:

Pat: Hope this update is quick enough, I'd hate for you to fall…thanx for the review!

Angela: Thanx very much!

Lynne: Thanx very much! I also love Doc Fraiser, almost as much as Jack…and, well, sarcasm just goes with the territory on SG1, doesn't it? I love it!

Pleeeeeease review – it makes my day, really!


	4. Chapter 4

Hiya! Sorry this update has been so long in coming! If you are interested, visit my site or yahoo group, addresses on my bio page, as I can't post them here…

Thanx to my reviewers, SGCFan4ever, EmmyH, Hot Girl Faith, and Mia, you guys are great!

Now, this is the last chapter. Does anyone want a sequel? If so, what would you like included in it? Whose point of view? When do you want it to start? If anyone ha any preferences, I will try to include them in the sequel, if I write it. Did any of that make sense? I swear, I confuse myself sometimes…

Enjoy! Pleeease Review!

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As the Colonel had said, they didn't do things slowly on this planet. Within minutes, everything was covered in a thick blanket of snow. I can honestly say that I have never been so cold in my life. As the minutes passed, my thoughts became more and more depressed.

As the Colonel had listed his injuries, guilt had flooded through me. If it hadn't been for me, running so much more slowly than the rest, he would not have been hurt. I should never have come. I was pretty sure most of his injuries were from the tree, and it certainly hadn't helped that I had landed on him just minutes later. "God, sir, I'm so sorry!" I burst out, almost in tears. "For getting you hurt, for not being fast enough. If I hadn't been so slow, this would never have happened! I'm supposed to be a doctor, for cryin' out loud! First do no harm…"

A low, pain-filled chuckle came from the Colonel. "Careful Doctor…you're…picking up…bad habits!" "Sir, you're awake!" I dried my eyes as inconspicuously as possible "Can you sit up, Sir? I need to check your inju…" He interrupted me, his voice barely more than a whisper, "It's **_not_**…your…fault, Doc. **_You_** didn't…make…the…tree fall…or the lightning…strike…when it…did." "Well, no Sir, but if you hadn't saved me, you wouldn't be hurt…" "Doc…" he gasped, softly, struggling for breath, "This is my…job. Everyone has…one. Carter…is **_way_**…too smart. She fixes…everything and …gets us out of…a **_lot_** of…messes. Daniel…speaks to people. He's…our conscience. Our…**_voice_**. Teal'c…he's a...warrior. He knows stuff…about the…Snakehead's…and he…fights…like a whole…damn…**_army_**. **_My _**job…is to protect…everyone else. To…stop them…from getting…hurt. To take…their…pain. To **_die_**…for them…if necessary. That is…what…I **_do_**. It's who…I…**_am_**. And…I never…have any…regrets…about protecting…someone.**_ Never_**. It's my…**_job_**. My…**_life_**." He stopped, gasping for breath, panting heavily in pain. The weight of guilt lessened. It wasn't my fault. I realised, as I had known all along, that this was who Jack O'Neill was. It was what he did. His job. He would have been much more unhappy if I had been hurt when he could have saved me.

"Thank you, Colonel," I whispered, giving him a gentle hug, mindful of his broken ribs. "You're…welcome," he said, grinning weakly. "**_Your_** job…by the way…is to…patch me…up…when I get…hurt. Which you can…do…**_any_**…time…now."

"Yes Sir!" I grinned. Without much light, I couldn't really see him, and I'd left my pack – with my medical supplies - at the site when we had been forced to run so suddenly. I had a few roles of bandages, though, with which I wrapped his broken ribs and wrist. As I finished, I felt him shiver. It was then that the cold hit me in full. My adrenalin rush was over, and now I was just cold and tired. Very, **_VERY_** cold.

My miserable thoughts were broken by the Colonel. "C'mon Doc, help me up," he ordered, his voice and breathing stronger now that his ribs were supported. "Sir, you shouldn't…" I protested, knowing from experience that it would make little difference. "Doc, my butt's frozen to the ground. It's **_not_** very comfy, I'm tellin' ya! He grunted. "'sides, we need to find some dry wood to make a fire. The storm seems to be dying down, now, but the General probably won't send a rescue team through for another coupl'a hours, until it's completely clear, and we need warmth, or there won't be much point in them finding us."

"Sir, what if they don't get here in time…"

"They will, Doc. That's their job."

So that's where I am now. Gathering wood, frozen to the bone. I can't believe that Sam and the Colonel survived for so long in Antarctica – it's only been about an hour, and already I'm numb, my fingers and toes already feeling like pincushions. I know that I'll be okay though. The Colonel's here, and he knows what to do, even if he is muttering something fairly rude about video recorder's the Simpson's. I can see what Sam meant. Even when injured, in a really bad situation, it's hard not to believe him when he says he'll get you home.

After all, it's his job.

FINIS.

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Pleeeeease review! See author's notes at top of page for sequel… 


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